Italian Tennis Great Nicola Pietrangeli Has Died at 92
The tennis champion remains one of only three Italian men to win a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine pioneer: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, left us at ninety-two.
He carved his legacy by becoming the initial Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at Roland Garros in 1959 and retaining the prestigious trophy the following year.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's finest player prior to the rise of current world number two and four-times major winner Jannik Sinner.
"The sport in Italy is in mourning for an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian inducted in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has passed away," confirmed the national federation.
Alongside his two French Open victories, Pietrangeli also was the finalist in Paris in both 1961 and 1964.
He holds a record 164 matches played for Italy in the Davis Cup, securing victories in 120 of them, and spearheaded his country to its first title in 1976.
Organisers of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
